Lydia of Lies
by Mechanical Orange
Summary: Someone is sent to doublecross Jack, but is she tricked too? Complete.
1. Stranger in a Bar

A/N: I don't own POTC, or any of its characters. That's Disney's business. This story is completed, and I hope you enjoy it. It kind of took a long time.

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Lydia walked into the Faithful Bride, not quite sure what she was getting herself into. She stopped in the middle of the room and looked around. She saw many people who could have been the man she was looking for, but she chose the one who looked least likely. She sat down across from him. His face was hidden by a hood, and his accent was bordering on Irish. "Glad you could make it, lass." He took a drink from his mug. "Now, I got a job for ya. It won't be easy, mind, but the pay's well worth it."

"I'm up to it, whatever it is," Lydia leaned forward, eager to hear what his offer was. She was desperate for money, having lost nearly all of it on gambling and of course, rum.

"Well, I need you to steal something for me." He took another drink and continued," Nothing big like a ship, mind. No, something much more important." Intrigued at his last comment, Lydia leaned in slightly closer. "It's a necklace," he chuckled to himself. "At least the chain isn't important, it's more like what's on the chain. A gold medallion about this big," he shaped his fingers in a circle to demonstrate the size, "hangs on a chain, and is in the possession of one Captain Jack Sparrow." Lydia had heard many stories about Jack Sparrow. Most were nonsense in her mind, a curse placed upon gold that turns the men who steal them into skeletons? No curse she had ever heard of has come true yet, so why should she fear, or for that matter believe them?

"Jack Sparrow? That mad, half drunken excuse for a pirate?" She leaned back in her chair now, all apprehension gone.

"Aye, one in the same. But he's got something of mine. He stole it off me, see? And now I want it back, but you'll need to follow precise directions." He lifted his mug, about to sip, but put it back down. Lydia thought to herself, directions for stealing a piece of jewelry? It sounds as if she could get it back tonight, if she played her cards right.

"But it's just a necklace, I'm sure I could get it to-"

"If it was an ordinary piece of jewelry, I'm sure you could," he interrupted. "But he'll be protecting this well, though. He knows I want it back." He took another swig from his mug. "Now here are your instructions." Lydia leaned in to hear every word. "He'll be hiding the necklace on his ship, The Black Pearl. The only way you'll ever get on that ship is by becoming one of the crew. The Pearl is big, there's always room for one more. Tonight Sparrow'll probably get so drunk he won't know the way back to his own ship. That'll be the perfect time to corner him and force him to let you become part of his crew. Once you're on the ship, all you have to do is earn his trust, and at the right time take the necklace. He's leaving at dawn. I know where they are headed, so don't worry about finding me; I'll find you." After that lengthy explanation, he took a long drink from his mug, seeming to drain it. He let out a belch.

"But if you know where Sparrow's headed, why don't you just steal it from him at his destination?" It seemed to Lydia that it would be more trouble to hire someone like her than to just steal it themselves.

"You're a sharp one; you don't miss a thing do ya? I'll put it to you like this; I need that necklace by a certain day. Sparrow will be arriving at his destination by that day. We need you, love, to save time. We can't be taking over his ship, stealing the necklace, and expect to get it all done by our deadline, now can we? I think not, love." He leaned back in his chair and she did the same. What could be so important that she would have to go through this? He spoke again, bringing her back to her surroundings. "Do we have a deal? You'll get your reward when you give us the necklace. It shouldn't be too hard. I hear Sparrow has a soft spot for ladies."

"I'll need some payment up front of course," she answered, buying some time. Her mind was saying yes, she needed the money, but her heart was saying no, this wasn't right.

"Of course, poppet. Here you are." He pushed a bag of coins to her. She opened it, and tried to conceal her surprise. Coins of gold and silver shone from the bag. "So you accept?" His voice hinted a smile.

"Yes," that was all she could manage at the sight of the money.

"There's a good lass. I'll be seein' ya in about a month," and with that he got up and disappeared in the crowd. All Lydia could think was _what have I gotten myself into?_


	2. Of Stories and Swords

A/N: I got good reviews so I'm writing another chapter!!! I moved my story to the POTC section that they put up, and (thanks to Talismaniac) I finally know what a Mary Sue is and I don't like them either, but if I'm writing one then it just proves that I am a hypocrite.  
  
She stood up still thinking. I can't back out now, but where would I find Sparrow? She stepped outside, and as if a greater force were watching out for her, she was knocked down by the man she was looking for. "Get off!" she yelled, as she struggled to push him off of her. "Disgusting pig," she muttered under her breath.  
  
"What was that?" Jack Sparrow turned his attention to Lydia.  
  
"I was just commenting on the fact that men here seem to get so drunk, that they feel the need to fall on top of random women." She got off, brushing the dirt off of her.  
  
"Well, if you feel that way about it, you shouldn't be standing still, as highly drunk men like to go for the easiest one," he chuckled. He took another drink from his rum bottle and stood up, swaying slightly.  
  
"Do I look like a whore to you?" she asked indignantly. This might be harder than I thought.  
  
"Now that you mention it," he looked her up and down, she was wearing trousers, boots and a man's shirt, "you don't. But to any drunk man, any woman is fair game." He took a swig from the bottle and then his face showed an expression of realization. "Beg pardon, love, but I forgot to introduce myself!" at this he stood up straighter. "I am Captain Jack Sparrow of the Black Pearl." He extended his hand, as if to shake, but Lydia didn't offer hers.  
  
"I know who you are," after some quick thinking she added, "and it's lucky I found you before you set sail."  
  
"And why is that, deary? I'm afraid I'm all worn out for the night." He grinned wide and showed many gold teeth.  
  
"No, it's not for that," she said disgusted at herself for coming across that way. "I want to be part of your crew, my name is Lydia." She looked him straight in the eye.  
  
"And why should I let you, a woman, be part of my crew?" He thought to himself, I haven't had a woman on board since Anamaria went off with that sailor from Port Lawrence; it couldn't hurt, could it?  
  
"I'm as good as any pirate, and," she added, "I've always wanted to sail with the infamous Jack Sparrow."  
  
"That's Captain Jack Sparrow," he would never be too drunk to forget 'Captain.' This man has an ego the size of an elephant, she thought to herself. "So tell me," he started circling her now, bringing her focus back to him, "what have I done to get blessed with your. attention?" His sarcasm was even more pronounced with his drunken slur.  
  
"Well," come on think! "I've heard lots of stories about you and your ship." His circling made her uneasy, so she turned with him. "So I want to see if they are true." All this turning was making her dizzy; she thought he would be dizzy too, considering his alcohol intake.  
  
He stopped turning, for which Lydia was grateful, and smiled. "To answer your curiosity," he drew a deep breath, "yes, it's true the Pearl was run by my mutinous crew who were cursed by Aztec gold, which they had taken after they left me marooned on an island, which I escaped from to hunt down my ship and along the way I met two lovely people, the governor's daughter and her friend the blacksmith at Port Royale, she was kidnapped by the evil crew and he was determined to find her, we chased them to Isla de Muerte where they attempted to break the curse by spilling the girl's blood but they really needed the boy's blood so they took him instead but I saved him and his girlfriend and killed my mutinous crew's leader, and as far as I know the couple lived happily ever after." His words were so slurred together, that Lydia only caught bits and pieces of what he was saying, but she understood that he had told her the curse was real. "Are you satisfied?" He smiled, and took a long drink from his bottle.  
  
"No, I still want to be part of your crew!" She can't fail this.  
  
"A girl with a one track mind," he said half to himself. "Very well, you must prove your worth by having a sword fight with me." He grinned, knowing that no matter the outcome of the duel, she would still be welcome on his ship.  
  
"I accept." She pulled out her sword. He threw his rum bottle down and copied the action. They took their stances; suddenly Sparrow lunged. She quickly blocked the attack and responded with one of her own. He's quite good for a drunk man, she thought. Swords flashed and clanged. They went in circles, but Lydia wasn't dizzy this time; all of her attention was focused on the duel. Soon enough she saw they were evenly matched, and decided the only way to win was to use a little underhandedness. She saw her chance when Sparrow put his left foot forward to lunge at her. She deftly swung her right foot behind his left and used it to pull his leg out from under him. He fell on his back and his sword fell out of his hand. She pointed her sword at his throat.  
  
"That wasn't fair," he said as he looked from her sword tip to her face.  
  
"Who said anything about fair?" she smirked. "I guess this means I'm part of your crew?"  
  
"Aye, follow me." She sheathed her sword and waited for him to get up. He stood up, still swaying, grabbed his sword and rum, and then walked on. She walked half a step behind him thinking, that wasn't so bad was it? Now all I have to do is find that necklace! She followed him through crowds of prostitutes, drunks, and pirates to get to the docks. All she wanted to do now was rest, it had been a long and eventful night, or morning, she reminded herself. When Sparrow stopped in front of a ship, Lydia had been thinking about other things and ran into him. "A little eager, aren't we?" he gave her a wide grin.  
  
"Don't flatter yourself, Captain." Suddenly she looked up at the ship, and for the second time tonight, was shocked beyond words. It was real, The Black Pearl was real, and she was to be sailing on it.  
  
"Up you go, Lydia," he ushered her up the gangplank. As she walked in front of him, a green pouch tucked in her waistband grabbed his attention. He glanced up at Lydia, and seeing that she was thoroughly engrossed with the ship, he snatched the pouch. It's heavy, he thought to himself. Wonderful. "Welcome," he said, "to The Black Pearl." 


	3. The Work of Cheaters

A/N: Yes, I realize that I had problems w/ my second chapter and I hope I fixed them!!! Anyway I haven't gotten any bad reviews so either my warning about flamers worked or everyone who read my story liked it, I know, I know, dare to dream. But thanks anyway, and enjoy this next chapter!!!  
  
Sparrow quickly tucked the pouch into his vest, and motioned her to follow him. "Let me show you your quarters, love." She jumped at his words; she had forgotten there was anyone else on the ship.  
  
"Yes, of course." She followed him back towards the stern, where there was a small, dirty, dusty room with a cot.  
  
Sparrow looked around the room, and said, "Just how I left it. It's all yours, savvy?" He smiled and showed his golden teeth. He left the room laughing softly.  
  
"Pig," she muttered after he left. She walked around the small room and sighed. It's so small, she thought to herself, it could probably fit only three of these cots, but you'd have no walking room. She yawned, the shock of the boat was wearing off, and she could feel her fatigue. She lay down on the cot and went to sleep immediately.  
  
All too soon she could hear the waking bell of the ship, ringing all too loudly. She almost fell off of her cot when she tried to turn over, but she saved herself at the last second and stood up. She stretched, and then scolded herself for forgetting to untie her brown hair from the bandanna before she slept. She took it down and retied it in the cloth. "Damn that sword fight," she swore as she began to feel sore from the night before. "Oh well, at least I'm on the ship, and we're casting off," she mumbled. Lydia opened her door and joined the line of men awaiting orders from their captain. She glanced at the rest of her fellow crewmembers. There was a big man who was drinking from a flask, a man with a parrot, and a dwarf, just to name a few. Suddenly she heard a door open, and she turned her head towards the captain's quarters. Jack Sparrow came swaggering out, like he was still drunk.  
  
He strutted to the front of the line and yelled, "Posts everyone!" All the men scurried like rats to trim the sails, raise the anchor, and help navigate.  
  
Sparrow started to walk away but before he reached the stairs leading to the wheel, Lydia called out, "And what am I supposed to do, Captain?" At this he drunkenly turned and walked toward her in the same manner.  
  
"You," he said getting within inches of her, "can swab the deck. The bucket and mop are down in the galley." He beamed and then added, "Have fun," and walked away. At this she stomped off down the stairs and violently grabbed the mop and bucket.  
  
Cursing, Lydia walked back up the stairs dragging the heavy bucket and mop. "Fine, Sparrow, if you want to play that way, I can too." She muttered aggressively under her breath, but obviously the parrot heard her because the bird squawked, "Wind in the sails, Wind in the Sails!"  
  
"Stupid bird," she said, as she walked towards the wheel. She practically threw down her bucket, savagely dunked the mop, and began viciously mopping the floor right behind Sparrow's feet. The water trickled down, soaking his boots, and the base of the wheel. She didn't move from that spot, she just kept mopping the same place. Sparrow seemed not to notice, he was too busy navigating, who knows where, because as far as Lydia could see, he had no map or compass.  
  
After about five minutes of this, Sparrow turned to her and said, "You know, love, you'll never get this whole deck clean by supper if you keep mopping that same spot." He turned his attention back to the wheel, and left Lydia to rage silently behind his back. Grudgingly she moved to do the rest of the deck. By noon, she had finished mopping and sat down on a wooden box to rest. Suddenly she heard a voice from above her, "What are you doing?" Sparrow yelled. "You still have below deck to finish!" That was it; she couldn't take any more of this. She stormed up to the top deck, and got in front of his face, with the wheel separating them.  
  
"This is it! I've had it up to here with your petty and useless tasks!" She raised her arms up to her eyes to demonstrate. "Why are you treating me like an inferior? What in God's name have I done?" She yelled, which was quite unnecessary, as she was centimeters from his face. "Tell me!"  
  
As she was panting from all that raving, Sparrow craned his neck to look at the ocean and turned the wheel slightly. Then he looked her in the eye and spoke calmly and quietly, "You cheated in that sword fight."  
  
"I'm a pirate damn it! Of course I cheated!" She screamed. His response was to look over her shoulder and turn the wheel yet again. "Then why," she added, "did you let me on your ship?"  
  
He looked her in the eye and replied, "Well, someone has to swab the deck."  
  
"Fine! I challenge you to another duel! Right now!" She caught her breath, then added, "And no cheating! I swear!"  
  
Sparrow leaned on wheel and said serenely, "I would, love, but you've still got to clean below deck and cook dinner for the crew." She gave him a look that would melt ice, but Sparrow ignored it, his attention back on the ocean. She grew so close to punching him, but before she raised her arm she remembered why she was on this boat in the first place. It would not be good to get thrown off. So instead of expressing her anger in a physical way, she breathed deeply, and calmly as she could, walked down below deck. "There's a good lass," Sparrow called after her. Lydia flinched, oh how I would love to hit that man. 


	4. Entertaining the Guests

Lydia did eventually finish cleaning, right in time to make dinner. After dinner she again challenged Sparrow to a fight, but his reply was, "Not tonight, I'm too tired." At this she stalked off to her bedroom. One good thing can be said about all that swabbing, Lydia had no problems getting to sleep, but this time she did remember to untie her hair. The next few days were the same as the first one, her chores varied from one futile task to another. Every evening, after all her jobs were accomplished, she asked Sparrow to a duel and each time he declined, giving a different reason every time. I'll have to hand it to him, Lydia thought, he has a gift for coming up with excuses. Her job was the only thing that kept Lydia from breaking out into a fight. One not so special morning about a week into their journey, the bell rang louder and longer than it usually did. Lydia ran out from her pitiful room to hear what the fuss was about.  
  
"Land ahoy!" Gibbs called, "Land ahoy!" Lydia looked to where Gibbs was pointing and saw a distant harbor. This can't be the final destination, she thought to herself, he said it would be a month at least. I haven't even looked for the necklace! I've been too tired after all that work. Damn the captain! She walked over to Gibbs  
  
"Where are we?" she asked.  
  
"This is Port Royale," he smirked, "I believe the Captain has some business here." Sure enough Sparrow sauntered out of his room, looking happier than usual.  
  
"When we dock," he began, "I give you leave till dawn." Then he added, "Anyone who's late will be left behind." It didn't take long to get to the harbor and dock the ship. When the ship was anchored, all the men rushed off in search of rum and easy women. Lydia was the last one in the overanxious line, but before she could go ashore, a voice called her back. "Lydia, love," Sparrow said, "I need you to stay here and-"  
  
"I know, I know!" She cut him off with an exasperated voice. "I have to stay here and swab the deck because I am a cheater and that's what cheaters are destined to do." She turned away and started stomping off toward the stairs.  
  
"You can swab the deck if you want to, but first I need you to help me," here he paused, as if searching for the right word, "entertain," he put a delicate stress on the word, " some guests," he finished.  
  
"Excuse me?" What in the world did he mean?  
  
"Just get some food, wine, and rum together and bring it to me when I call you." He said, as if the simplest man could figure out what he meant. "Savvy?" he asked.  
  
"As if I have a choice," she muttered under her breath. Out loud she said, "Savvy." She walked off to the galley, cursing under her breath. Jack smiled and returned to his cabin.  
  
Lydia searched through all the cupboards and found cheese, grapes, apples, cold turkey, bread, wine, and of course rum. She gathered them all up and displayed them on a beautiful silver tray that she had discovered. She was curious about these guests the captain mentioned. Suddenly, she heard the bell. That must be my page, Lydia thought. Maybe after this I can go ashore. As she approached the door, she heard unfamiliar voices, man and a woman's. She pushed open the door and walked in, uncertainly. At the table, Sparrow, a man and a woman dressed in fancy attire sat, discussing. When Lydia entered, they fell silent. She placed the tray in front of Sparrow, and started to turn away. "Lydia, we'd like to have a chat with you," the captain said.  
  
"What is it?" Lydia replied, trying to keep her cool.  
  
"Come have a seat, and I'll explain." Sparrow pulled out a chair between him and the woman. She hesitantly sat down, looking at the man across from her. "This is Will and Elizabeth Turner," he stated, "that couple I told you about." It took a while for Lydia to remember, but she did, their first meeting in Tortuga, when he so drunkenly related his story. She nodded to show that she remembered. "Well, we would like to ask you a question, savvy?" Sparrow said. Again, Lydia only nodded, she was nervous, what would they ask her? Why were these people here? Suddenly Sparrow reached into one of his holsters and produced a familiar looking pouch. Lydia gasped.  
  
"That's mine!" she cried. "Where did you-When did you?" Lydia was too shocked to speak.  
  
"So it is yours," Sparrow smiled to himself. "Where did you get it?"  
  
Lydia felt all eyes upon her, so she looked down at the table. "I-uh-I got it from all over." She said, thinking quickly. "I'm a pirate you know," finding her confidence, she looked up, "I stole most of it, some of it I worked for." She looked Sparrow in the eye, daring him to challenge her lie. He did.  
  
"It's not good to lie to your Captain." Sparrow dumped the contents of the pouch onto the table. For the first time, Lydia saw the coins in daylight. There were strange markings on them, like words written in a strange, foreign language. Lydia tried her hardest to conceal the surprised look on her face, but Sparrow saw. "Where did you get these?" he asked, holding up a gold coin.  
  
"I-I-," she stuttered. She didn't want to blow her secret, but what could she say?  
  
"It's okay. Tell us the truth, we won't hurt you." The man, Will, said. She looked up at him, seeing a friendly face helped.  
  
"We were discussing it, and we came to the conclusion that you didn't know what you had. If you tell us where you got it, we can help you." Elizabeth added. At her words, Lydia looked at the woman. Another friendly face, she was so close to telling them the truth. She looked at Sparrow, she tried not to because she felt that her stare would be met with a smirk, but instead there was a look of concern on his face. Seeing his face calmed her in a strange way, she drew a deep breath and began her story. Throughout her story, she looked down at the table; she knew what she had done was dishonorable. The end of her story was met with silence. She looked up from the spot on the table, and was met with looks of shock from Will and Elizabeth, but Sparrow looked slightly amused. The Turner's looked to Sparrow, obviously to see what he was grinning about. Lydia was just as curious.  
  
"Well Lydia, I think it's time to get you ashore." Sparrow smirked as he got up and opened the door. 


	5. The Truth About Lies

"What?" Lydia asked. "I'm not going anywhere 'til you give me some answers!" She stood up.  
  
"Calm down love, before you ask me anything, maybe you should ask yourself if you should talk to your captain that way." Jack said, closing the door and walking over to her.  
  
"Why you-" she began, but Will interrupted.  
  
"Jack, she's got a point, we need to know what's going on and Lydia deserves to know." Will's was the voice of reason that talked Sparrow into telling the whole story. He sighed heavily and sat down, grabbing the bottle of rum as he did so.  
  
"Well," Jack said, turning to Lydia, "that man is Edward Jeerdin." Sparrow looked expectantly around the table, but he was met with blank stares. "Eyeless Eddie?" he prompted. There was silence around the table. Sparrow sighed. "Oh come on! Hasn't anybody heard of him?" He looked around.  
  
"Well- I mean- Are you telling me he's real?" Lydia asked, confused.  
  
"Of course he's real!" Sparrow replied angrily.  
  
"But the stories- they can't be true can they?" she pressed.  
  
"Well yes they're true!"  
  
"All of them?"  
  
"All of them!" Then he added, "Except for the one about the fifty ton fish."  
  
"Then that means I just made a deal with the most violent pirate the Caribbean has ever known?" Lydia cried.  
  
"Aye, you did." Sparrow turned, seeing the perplexed looks on the Turner's faces. He began to recount Eyeless Eddie's violent doings in full. How he took every man from a village and cut them into four equal pieces to display in the village square; how he hysterically laughed as he watched men, women, and children burn to death inside a building he set on fire, and all his other brutal and gory actions. Elizabeth and Will looked on in horror as Sparrow talked. Lydia sunk her head deeper and deeper into her hands as each story finished. Finally he came to the part that concerned the necklace. "This necklace is the key to finding the treasure of James Cook."  
  
"Oh my God!" Lydia exclaimed.  
  
"What is it?" Will asked.  
  
"No," Lydia whispered, "it can't be true. They said it was a lie, they said he never had it. They told me-they didn't lie! She wouldn't lie to me, why would she lie to me?" She murmured frantically under her breath. "No, it's you who's lying," she pointed to Sparrow. "It's you, why are you doing this? Why did I tell you? You tricked me!" She turned to look at the others, "You all tricked me!" she yelled. She stood up and backed toward the door. Sparrow got up and moved toward her. "Stay away from me!" she screamed.  
  
"Lydia calm down," Sparrow said softly. "Tell us what's wrong. We didn't trick you, I swear." Lydia started sobbing uncontrollably and sank down to the floor.  
  
"I never told you my last name, did I?" Lydia asked between sobs. "No, I didn't." She wiped her eyes. "My last name is Cook. James Cook is my grandfather." She heard gasps from everyone in the room. "The story of his treasure was my favorite bedtime story," she continued. "My mother would tell it to me every night, but she would always tell me it wasn't real, and that my father was a merchant, always out on the sea, trading goods. I ignored the other children's taunts about how my father was crazy for looking for a treasure, but I would tell them that he wasn't looking for treasure. They laughed at me too, for believing what my mother told me. She said my father died because his ship sank, other children said he died because a pirate, looking for the same treasure, killed him, hoping he would get some clues to where the treasure was." Her breathing was fast and shallow now, she was trying to restrain her tears. "What a fool I was, for believing my mother. What a damn fool." She put her head down in her arms, silent tears running down her face. She could hear whispers. They must think I'm crazy, she thought, well I am. Lydia felt a hand grab onto her arm, and help her to her feet.  
  
"Just come have a seat, love," Sparrow said gently. "Have a drink of rum." He set her down in a chair and handed her the bottle. She looked down at it, but didn't drink it. "We think," Sparrow said cautiously, as though Lydia might explode again, "that it would be best if you stayed with Will and Elizabeth in Port Royal, while I go look for the treasure." Lydia nodded.  
  
"But first," she said, "tell me why that necklace is so important." She looked up and Jack with her bloodshot eyes and tear streaked face.  
  
"Alright, since you asked so nicely," Jack sat down. "Well, you see," he said reaching into a drawer and taking out a gold chain with a gold disk on it, "this medallion was made by the Aztecs." He looked over at Lydia and said, "I honestly don't know how he got it, must have sold his soul. Anyway, when he hid his treasure, he didn't need a map. He inscribed coordinates onto this," he held up the disk, "and buried his treasure." He looked around at Will and Elizabeth, seeing he had their attention, he continued, "When you sail to these coordinates, on the right date, which he also inscribed, the sunlight will show you the way." He offered no explanation after that; instead he put the necklace back in the drawer.  
  
"How will the sunlight show you the way?" Elizabeth voiced the question everyone else was thinking.  
  
"At dawn," he began, "you hold up the pendant to the sun, and the sun's rays should shine through the hole in the center, and point the way," he finished simply. The anticlimactic ending was met with skepticism from the Turner's.  
  
"Jack, are you sure that's right?" Will asked. Lydia knew what they were all thinking, it was too simple, there has to something else. But there wasn't, she knew there wasn't.  
  
"He's right," Lydia's voice startled all three of them. "That's how my mother always told it." She faced Jack, "How did you get the necklace? I'm pretty sure my father didn't have it."  
  
"I found it in the caves of Isla de Muerte," he stated. "I don't know how it got there, but I knew what it was when I examined it." He smiled. "It's time to get you," he directed this comment at Lydia, "ashore." He stood up and opened the door; this time Lydia had no objections.  
  
"Thanks, Captain," she murmured as she walked past him. 


	6. Long Lost Cousin

Lydia walked with Will and Elizabeth down the gangplank. When she reached the ground she looked back to the ship, Jack was nowhere to be seen. Here ends my adventure, she thought. She sighed inwardly.  
  
"We've decided," Elizabeth said, "that you are to come live with us. We will pretend that you are my cousin from England. You are visiting Port Royal because you wish to know if the living conditions are better here," Elizabeth grinned. "These people are too self absorbed to realize a lie." She and Will chuckled. Lydia only nodded. "Tonight there is a party at the governor's mansion," Elizabeth continued. "I'm sure you will meet plenty of gentlemen, begging for the chance to dance with you, when I'm done dressing you up." It took a little while for Elizabeth's words to sink in.  
  
"Dressing me up?" Lydia asked, perplexed. "I'm going to the party? But I'm a pirate!"  
  
"Don't worry," said Elizabeth, brushing it aside, "no one has to know." They continued walking in silence; Lydia was contemplating the party issue. The more she thought about it, the more she thought it would be extremely amusing to fool all these high society people.  
  
"I guess I could do it, do you think I'd be convincing?" she asked.  
  
"Oh definitely, and if you say you're my cousin no one will challenge you," Elizabeth replied airily.  
  
"Why's that?" Lydia inquired.  
  
"Because I'm the governor's daughter," Elizabeth responded with a smirk.  
  
Lydia opened her mouth to say something, but Will said, "We're here." She looked up and was staring at the governor's mansion.  
  
"You live here?" she asked in shock.  
  
"Yes," Elizabeth said. "Now we need to get you cleaned up." She took Lydia upstairs where several servants were waiting. They gave Lydia a bath, washed her hair, and her clothes. Elizabeth brought out a beautiful dress to put on Lydia. "It will look wonderful on you." Before the actual dress went on, they forced Lydia into two under-dresses, and a corset. "Not too tight," Elizabeth said with a wink. After a servant laced the corset up, Elizabeth checked the tightness. "Perfect," she said. Perfect? Lydia thought, I can barely breath! They pulled the dress over her head and laced it up.  
  
"It's a little heavy," Lydia said, trying to lift her arms and barely succeeding.  
  
"You'll get used to it," Elizabeth replied. She sat Lydia down at a vanity and started teasing her hair, while the servants were applying makeup to hide her tan face. The result was amazing. Lydia looked as though she had been a noble woman all her life. All Lydia could do was gasp. "It's time for the party," and Elizabeth led her downstairs.  
  
The party had already begun; men and women were dancing gracefully on the floor. The music was flowing and so was the champagne. It wasn't long before a gentleman came to ask Lydia to dance. She accepted. It was an exhilarating sensation; she was floating across the dance floor. She soon learned the man's name was Gerald Hamilton; he was a merchant. "And what is you name, fair lady?" he asked.  
  
"Lydia Swann," she answered.  
  
"Oh, are you related to Elizabeth Turner?"  
  
"Yes," she responded. "She is my cousin." She smiled on the inside at the lie.  
  
"And what brings you to Port Royal?" he inquired  
  
"I wish to observe the living conditions, and determine if they are better than England's." she answered snobbishly.  
  
"I find that they are." He said.  
  
"Yes, I am experiencing that myself." They continued dancing for a little longer.  
  
"My dear, I wish some champagne. Will you wait here for me?" He asked politely.  
  
"Of course." She walked to a corner, out of the way of the dancers. She tried to catch her breath, but it was extremely difficult with the corset. While she was controlling her breathing, she overheard a few men talking.  
  
"Did you see that ship in the harbor?" one asked.  
  
"Yes of course!" another answered.  
  
"The one with the black sails?" the third man asked.  
  
"It's a pirate ship," the first one answered.  
  
"A pirate ship!" the second one responded.  
  
"Yes, but don't worry," the first one smiled smugly. "I sent out the militia to capture the wretched creatures." All of the men laughed. Oh my God! Lydia thought, Jack! She didn't know what came over her then, but she took off towards the door and ran. She could barely breath, everything was getting black around the edges, but she didn't stop. Her shoes fell off as she ran; she didn't notice. She was fighting ferociously to keep conscious. She sprinted onto the ship.  
  
"Jack!" she yelled. "Jack!" she panted. He came running from his cabin.  
  
"Lydia," he asked confused. "What is it?"  
  
"The village--the men-coming-militia-heard talking," she wheezed. Jack looked to the shore and saw torches headed his way. As he looked back at Lydia she fainted. He caught her dangerously close to the floor.  
  
"Damn it!" he said. He laid Lydia down on the deck. He then proceeded to rip her dress off and cut her corset off. She didn't wake up, but she was still breathing. He heard footsteps and looked up. Will was running toward him.  
  
"You have to cast off immediately!" he said. "What's Lydia doing here?" he asked.  
  
"She came to warn me," Jack replied.  
  
"How did she know?"  
  
"I don't know. She fainted before she could tell me." He looked Will in the eye and said, "It's those damn corsets." Will nodded in agreement. More footsteps were running up the gangplank.  
  
"Captain," Gibbs said, "we came running as soon as we saw the militia." The whole crew was behind him.  
  
"Cast off!" Jack yelled. The men ran to their stations. "It's too late to get you and her back on shore," Jack said. "Are you ready for another adventure?" He asked.  
  
"Yes," Will replied with no apprehension. "I told Elizabeth this might happen. She doesn't mind, or at least that's what she told me." The ship began moving, Jack lifted Lydia into his arms and carried her to his cabin.  
  
"Rest well, Lydia," he said as he placed her on his bed, "you have lots of swabbing to do tomorrow." 


	7. She Speaks her Mind

A/N: I know this is a short and almost pointless chapter but I had to put in a transition thing so this is it, and I NEED more constructive criticism!!! I need to know what is wrong w/ my story!!! Thankssss  
  
Lydia woke up to pulsing headache and an unfamiliar bed. She opened her eyes and looked around the room. This isn't my room, she thought, this is the Captain's. Why am I here? She rolled over to her back and sat up. She stood up, and fell back on the bed. The floor was moving up and down! The boat, she realized, it was the boat, we must have cast off. Her head hurt worse when she tried to remember all that had happened yesterday. She looked down at herself, and saw that she was wearing an under dress. Then it all came flooding back to her, the discussion, the ball, the militia, and Jack. I must have fainted, she assumed, but where is my dress? She turned her head slowly, so not to make the pain worse. She saw her dress crumpled in the corner. She stood slowly and cautiously walked toward it. Lydia held it up, and saw that it was ripped in the back; she also found her corset, slashed open.  
  
"I only did that so you could breath," Jack's voice startled her. She turned to face him as he shut the door behind him.  
  
"Oh," Lydia replied. "Thanks, I guess."  
  
"Yeah," there was a pause, and then he spoke again. "Well, you better find different clothes," he said pointing at her dress. Was it just Lydia, or was he acting a bit differently around her? "You've got a lot of work to do, savvy?" It was just Lydia.  
  
"Savvy," she replied through clenched teeth. She picked up her ruined dress and corset and stalked off. She was too busy cursing Jack Sparrow to look where she was going, which resulted in a collision with another person. "I'm sorry," she said as she looked up. "Will!" she cried. "What are you doing here?" As she walked to her pathetic room Will explained what had happened last night. He finished his account when Lydia reached the door to her room.  
  
"This is your room?" he asked. He looked at her small chamber with disregard.  
  
"Yes," she said disdainfully. She opened the door and threw her dress in the corner. "Do you know where any spare clothes would be?" she asked. "I can't go around in this," she motioned to her under dress.  
  
"You might want to check in a room down below," he answered. He looked around the dismal room again. "Did Jack give you this room?"  
  
"Of course. Just like he gave me all those insignificant chores." She sighed. "Oh well, he IS the captain after all, I guess he can do what he wants." She looked up at Will, his facial expression was disagreement mixed with annoyance. "I guess I better go look for some other clothes," and she walked out of the room. Will walked out after her, but instead of going below deck, he went to the top, where Jack was 'navigating.'  
  
"Why did you give Lydia that closet?" Will demanded.  
  
"Closet?" he said with amusement. "It's more like an oversized pantry." He laughed to himself.  
  
"And what about all those useless chores?"  
  
"Will Turner, the one who always looks out for everybody else," he grinned.  
  
"Someone has to do it, and you're obviously not the one," Will snapped back.  
  
"Has it EVER occurred to you that if Lydia was truly unhappy she would move herself out?" Jack focused all his attention on Will. "You know what kind of girl she is. She's not one to sit back and let something that makes her mad carry on." He turned back to the wheel and concentrated on steering. "No, if she's miserable she'll let me know." As if on cue, Will heard stomping accompanied with yelling and looked to the source of the noise. Lydia was savagely stamping up the stairs now dressed in more practical attire, and was heading straight for Jack.  
  
"If you think that I'm going to do more of your--odd jobs--then you've got another thing coming!" she yelled as she approached him. "Now that you know my secret I don't give a damn if you throw me off this ship! In fact, I'd be glad to get off this hellhole and away from you!"  
  
Jack shot Will a meaningful glance, then spoke, "Lydia, dear, I know you've had a hard day, so if you feel too drained to work today, I give you MY permission to rest," he said in him most condescending tone. Lydia's temper hit the boiling point, she couldn't help herself; she punched Jack across the face as hard as she could.  
  
"You know damn well what I mean!" she yelled at Jack, who was rubbing the injured side of his face. "I'll be in my room if you need me," she said, and then she stomped off. She ignored the smirking faces of the crew as she went by.  
  
Jack opened his mouth to speak but Will got there first, "I don't care what you say, you did deserve that one."  
  
"I can't argue there," he replied. Will laughed. "Maybe I should give her a different job, like trimming the sails or something. Do you think she'd like that better?"  
  
"Oh, definitely." Will replied, chuckling. 


	8. The Plan

A/N: This is another short and slightly less pointless chapter, but my inspiration has run dry-isn't that from a song? Anyway stick with me I promise it'll get better cuz I know what's gonna happen next, at least I think I do. Please review!  
  
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"Lydia, we need to talk," Jack said upon entering her room. It had been several weeks since her 'fight' with him. She was finally getting equal treatment, Lydia felt it was partly due to Will, who seemed very concerned for her. She thought Will's worry was amusing, she could take care of herself; she'd done it for the past nine years.  
  
"That depends on what you want to talk about," she replied.  
  
"Will you come on?" Jack retorted, impatiently. Lydia took that to mean that it was something important.  
  
"Then let's go," she said as she walked out the door. She headed straight to the captain's room. She looked back to see if Jack was following her, he was. She entered the room and saw Will waiting there. "Hello," she greeted Will. "I suppose this little chat will be about the treasure."  
  
"Did Jack tell you that?" Will asked.  
  
"Would he tell me anything?" she laughed. "It wasn't very hard to guess." Will looked slightly affronted, and then he smiled.  
  
"You're probably right," he said.  
  
"Right about what?" Jack asked, when he entered the room.  
  
"She knows why she's here," Will answered.  
  
"You told her?" he asked, insulted.  
  
"Why do men always underestimate women?" Lydia interjected.  
  
"I didn't mean it like that, love," Jack defended.  
  
"Don't lie to me Jack," she responded. When she saw him open his mouth to speak again she said mockingly, "Sorry, CAPTAIN Jack." He smiled at her. "Let's get down to business then," she added. She sat down at the table, and Will and Jack followed suit. "So I take it we're approaching our destination?" she asked innocently.  
  
"She's a smart one," Jack muttered to Will.  
  
"I can hear you," Lydia said irritably.  
  
"Right," Jack replied. "Anyway, down to business." He put his feet up on the table and leaned back in his chair. "The whole problem is you," he directed at Lydia. "You aren't supposed to be here," he added very matter-of-factly. "So when we get there, I want you to hide."  
  
"What?" Lydia cried. "You think I'm going to hide while there's a war going on out there? You got another thing coming."  
  
"I know it'll be hard, but it's for your own good," Will replied. "Who knows what Eyeless Eddie would do to you if he found out you were on our side."  
  
"Right," Jack interrupted. "We'll just tell him we killed you."  
  
"I'm sure that will work," Lydia said sarcastically. "And what happens when they invade the ship and find me?"  
  
"You're forgetting one thing, love, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. No one's going to get my ship."  
  
"Just like last time, Captain?" she asked sardonically.  
  
"Well, that was just a bit of bad luck," he said brushing it aside. "And Will's here, he practices sword fighting three hours a day, you know," Jack said smugly. Then looking at Will he added, "Maybe not anymore now that he's got a girl." She looked at Will questioningly  
  
"Long story," he replied. Lydia just nodded.  
  
"That settles that," Jack said. "Lydia, isn't it time for you to make dinner?"  
  
"Oh yes, what would you like, Captain? Porridge or stale bread?" she asked mockingly.  
  
"How about both!" Jack responded, obviously not catching her sarcasm.  
  
"Right," she said, and walked out.  
  
"If you keep treating her like that, Jack, she's never going to follow orders," Will told him.  
  
"She will if she knows what's good for her," then looking at Will she added, "she knows what's good for her. But, if you feel that way about it, you could always lock her in the brig."  
  
"I wouldn't do that, I trust your judgment," Will answered.  
  
"There's a good fellow. Now what do you want for dinner? Porridge or stale bread?" Will just smiled and shook his head.  
  
Lydia was disappointed about having to stay in the ship while the battle was fought. Actually truth be told, she didn't mind not fighting, but she did mind leaving the treasure in the hands of the captain. I am a pirate after all, she reminded herself. I'm supposed to want that treasure all to myself. Besides, it is my grandfather's, and I'm not so sure if Jack even deserves it. She made up her mind. She would sneak out of her room, when everyone was too busy to pay attention to her. She would steal the necklace and find the treasure herself. She could commandeer Eddie's ship and sail back to Tortuga, but without a crew? "I'll manage somehow," she said to herself. "That treasure is not going to see the hands of Captain Jack Sparrow." 


	9. Out Past Curfew

That evening, Lydia heard cries of, "Land ahoy!" from Gibbs. She went above deck to investigate. What she saw amazed her. Four islands, forming a perfect square, lay out before her. Each island was the same shape, and it looked like each one had the same landscape.  
  
"Impossible," she muttered.  
  
"No, it's not," Jack's voice startled her. "If it was impossible, then it wouldn't be here," continued, condescendingly. "We're sailing to the center of the islands. Then, with the medallion's help of course, we'll be able to see which island holds the treasure."  
  
"Right," Lydia nodded in agreement, but her mind was elsewhere. She was thinking of how to get the necklace, and the treasure. She would have to steal it now, and keep it until dawn. When she knew where the treasure was, she could throw the necklace overboard. She would be the only one who knew where it was. She glanced around. Jack had gone off to help maneuver the ship in between the islands. No one was watching her, not even Will. She crept towards the Captain's cabin, undetected. She quickly opened the door, and slipped inside. She searched through his drawers, until she found it. She tucked it into her belt, and silently slid out of the room. She walked as nonchalantly as possible towards the sails, and helped Gibbs. By the time they had gotten directly in the center of the square, night had fallen.  
  
"They should be arriving at any minute," Will told her. "You should go hide." Lydia sighed.  
  
"Alright," she said and walked to her room. She sat thinking, I have to wait until dawn. Will they be too busy fighting to notice me? Jack will surely look for the necklace, but will he suspect me? Of course he will, she answered herself. But by then, it'll be too late. She fell into a light sleep, but was awoken by yells and screams. She opened the door an inch. There was fighting and yelling. It looked like Jack was fighting Eyeless Eddie, while the rest of her crew was defending the ship. She looked to the sky; it looked to be very early morning. She slithered out of her room and tiptoed towards the crow's nest. Nobody was watching her. She stealthily climbed up the pole, and hid in the basket. She could see the skirmish below. Jack was so engrossed in his battle with Eyeless Eddie; he didn't notice one of Eddie's henchmen sneak up behind him.  
  
"Jack, behind you!" Lydia yelled. He looked behind him just in time to see the man pull a knife. Jack quickly slit his throat, and returned to fighting Eddie. But Lydia was in trouble. Her cry to Jack had brought attention to herself. Eyeless Eddie signaled to his men. They sprinted towards the crow's nest, and began climbing the post. Lydia searched herself for a knife, a weapon, anything, but came up empty-handed. "Damn it," she swore. She leaned over the railing. They were approaching all too quickly. She sat back against the pole, and waited for the first face to pop over the barrier. When it did, she was ready. She grabbed the knife out of his mouth, pulling out a few teeth in the process, and kicked him back over. There were five more men coming, who all had knives and pistols. Today is my lucky day, she thought. The second man to arrive was killed easily; he was unaware that she had a knife. She slit his throat, and he fell. The only problem with this was that it served as a warning to his fellow crew. The third man came up behind her and grabbed her. Lydia elbowed him in the stomach, and threw him out of the basket. The fourth and fifth man came from different sides, and ganged up on her. She twisted her body to miss a would-be-fatal stab from one of them. He got her arm instead. She ducked behind the other one, to use him as a shield. As the first one lunged, she pushed her shield into his knife, killing him instantly. All that was left was that one man. He had a sword, and a pistol. He pulled his sword, and Lydia knew she was in deep trouble. She hauled the dead man's sword out of its sheath and lunged. He blocked it, and then made his attack. It went on like this for some time, until Lydia realized that cheating was the only way to ensure victory. She lured him away from the corpse, and using the same maneuver she used on Jack the first night she met him, she tripped him. She slit his throat, not bothering to listen to his pleads.  
  
She sank back against the railing and breathed heavily. She titled her head to the sky, and saw to her horror the sun peaking up on the horizon. She fumbled for the necklace, and stood up. Just as the sun's first ray was lighting up the sky, she held up the necklace. The result was a blinding light, and then sudden dark. She looked up and saw the light being harnessed by the hole in the medallion. It filtered through, and then pointed at the island to her left. The beam was directed at the exact center. And just as quickly as it came, the light vanished. The sun came up, and lit the ship below. There were bodies and blood everywhere. She tried to find Jack and Will among all the carnage. Suddenly she was grabbed around the waist from behind, and heaved over the side. Her captor was a big man from the crew of Eyeless Eddie. He carried her down the pole and dragged her in front of his captain. She looked up at Eddie; he had one patch over his eye. He was wearing an evil grin. In a moment of inspiration, she threw the medallion overboard. She heard the splash and was satisfied, now no one could ever find the treasure. Eddie slapped her, hard.  
  
"Stupid girl!" he yelled. Then he smiled, that smile hurt more than his slap. "You will have to pay for that, with more than your life." 


	10. Backlash

"I wonder," Eddie whispered in Lydia's ear, "how much you value your friends' life?" She looked up and saw the crew tied to the mast. "I want you to bring back the treasure to me, by this time tomorrow." Lydia felt a sharp pain in her back, and then she felt her blood trickling down. "Let that be a warnin' to ya," he said, while holding his bloodstained sword so Lydia could see it. "Your friends will suffer much worse."  
  
"I'll need someone to help," she said suddenly, surprising even herself. "It must be a big treasure, I can't bring it by myself." Lydia did her best not to wince at the pain in her back.  
  
"Fine then," he turned to his crew. "Release Sparrow," he called. They promptly cut Sparrow loose and pushed him toward Eddie. For once, Jack didn't say anything.  
  
"Now you'll be takin' a little swim," Eddie said. His crew brought Jack and Lydia to the plank. "When you find the treasure, come back to that shore," he pointed to the island directly in front of the ship. "We'll be waiting," he finished with a smirk. Without warning, Lydia and Jack were pushed off the plank. As soon as Lydia hit the water, the cut in her back seared with pain like she had never felt before. She struggled for the shore. Gasping for breath, she crawled along the sand, and into the forested part of the island. Jack was waiting for her.  
  
"Took you long enough," he said. She leaned against a rock, panting. She didn't have the strength to get up, let alone say anything. He helped her up and said, "Let's have a look at that cut, shall we?" He lifted up the back of her shirt. The slash was located in the middle of her back. As his fingers crept up toward the cut, Lydia winced.  
  
"Ow," she whimpered.  
  
"Sorry," Jack muttered, but his fingers didn't stop moving. Lydia was about to yell at him to stop, when he pulled her shirt back down. "Actually, it doesn't look too bad," he said.  
  
"That's not how it feels," she retorted. "Now what are we going to do about the treasure?" she asked, changing the subject.  
  
"Find it of course," he said. Then looking at her added, "You do know where it is, right?"  
  
"Yes, I know where it is!" she cried, exasperated. "Why else would I have thrown the necklace in the water?"  
  
"Thought you were being all heroic or something, that's what Will would have done," he explained.  
  
"That treasure belongs to me, and nothing is going to stand in my way," Lydia said determinedly.  
  
"Oh, so you have a plan?" Jack asked.  
  
"No, I was hoping you would come up with one." Jack's face fell at her words. Lydia sighed. "Well, I guess we'll just find the treasure first, and we'll come up with a plan later." Lydia began walking to her left. Jack followed. "The treasure is on the island left of this one," she explained. They walked for about an hour "Damn," she said as they reached the water, "we'll have to swim across."  
  
"Let's go," Jack said, and jumped in the water. Lydia's cut had stopped bleeding, and she didn't want it to start again. She looked around for something she could use to cross the water. She didn't have anything particular in mind, but something caught her eye. A fallen log lay to the right of where Lydia was standing. By this time Jack had crossed and was watching her, impatiently. She didn't care. She dragged the log to the water and climbed on it. She pushed of with her feet, and paddled with her hands. It took her five minutes to cross, when she could have swam it in two. She really didn't mind; she was too worried about her sliced back. Jack gave her an annoyed look, but helped her up anyway.  
  
"The light pointed to the center of the island," she said. "There must be a cave or something." Jack nodded.  
  
"Right," he replied. They walked on in silence for a while, and then Jack spoke, "So how are you planning on dividing the treasure?"  
  
"I don't plan on dividing it," she said matter-of-factly. "It's mine, and I'm not giving it up, not even for you."  
  
"And you still want me to help you?" he asked, disbelieving.  
  
"Do you want to see your crew killed?" she snapped. "Eyeless Eddie is ruthless, I don't think he'll let us stay alive for very long after he gets what he wants."  
  
"I deserve part of the treasure," he argued. "I'm the one that got us here."  
  
"I could have done it by myself. I did tell you that I would have been glad to get kicked off your ship."  
  
"You're right, I should've kicked you off. Then I wouldn't have this problem with Eyeless Eddie."  
  
"What do you mean? If it weren't for me, all of your crew would have been killed right away. I saved you and your crew."  
  
"Well, according to you they're going to kill us anyway."  
  
"Not if you help me!" Lydia cried, frustrated.  
  
"Not until you give me an equal share in that treasure!" Jack yelled, equally as frustrated.  
  
"You ungrateful ba-" she started, but Jack interrupted.  
  
"I think we're here," he said. Lydia looked in front of her, and saw an entrance to a cave.  
  
"I think you're right," she whispered. 


	11. The Island Queen

Lydia ran inside, eager to find the treasure. Jack followed her. Upon entering the cave, they found gold and silver and jewels strewn on the ground, but that wasn't what interested Lydia. Her eyes were drawn to the chest in the center of the cavern. She dashed toward it and heaved it open. The chest contained the most beautiful jewelry Lydia had ever seen. Pearls, rubies, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, gold and silver glittered from within. She cautiously lifted a diamond-studded tiara out of the chest. All else was forgotten as she gazed at the headdress, until she heard Jack rummaging in the corner. She looked up and saw Jack produce two bottles, filled with what looked like rum.  
  
"Ol' James knew what made a good treasure!" he said gleefully. He tossed a bottle to Lydia, who gratefully uncorked and drank it.  
  
"I needed that," she responded. She slumped against the chest, with the tiara in her lap. Jack sauntered over and sat beside her. They drank in silence for a while. Suddenly Lydia placed the tiara on top of her head and proclaimed, "I am the queen of this island! All others serve me!" She began laughing uncontrollably. When she finally stopped laughing, she drank what was left in her bottle. "Is there anymore?" she asked Jack drunkenly.  
  
"Let me go look, love," he replied, getting to his feet. He left his bottle by Lydia. She grabbed it and drained that also. She turned to the chest and began rummaging through it. She put on all the jewelry she could. Jack came back with two more bottles.  
  
"Thank goodness," Lydia cried and grabbed the nearest one out of Jack's hand. She uncorked it and drank greedily.  
  
"Lydia," Jack said tentatively, "maybe we should be thinking up a plan right now." He looked around for his first bottle, only to see it lying empty by Lydia. He sighed, and uncorked a new one.  
  
"I am the queen and I say to hell with a plan!" she giggled. She struggled to her feet, but didn't quite make it. Jack had to help her. As soon as he let her go, she fell another time. Jack caught her dangerously close to the ground. He stood her up once more.  
  
"I think you've had enough rum for now," he said attempting to take her bottle away. She resisted.  
  
"Mutiny!" she cried. "Hang him!" She pulled away from his grasp but fell again, the fall seemed to knock her to her senses. "You're right," she said softly. She handed the bottle to Jack who took it cautiously, as if scared that she might pull it away. She didn't. "I don't want everyone to die," she whispered. "But I don't know what to do." Tears were running down her cheeks now.  
  
"We'll think of something," Jack said reassuringly. She took off her tiara and jewelry.  
  
"I used to want this treasure more than life itself, but it's not my life anymore," she sniffed. "This is all my fault!" she sobbed. "If I hadn't been so greedy, then none of this would have happened."  
  
"Well, you are right about that," he replied. She began crying even harder.  
  
"I know!" she bawled. She tucked herself into a tight ball, hands covering her head. "I know," she whimpered.  
  
"Oh come on, it's not as bad as it seems," he said, taking her arms away from her face, and lifting her head up. He turned her head to face him, and proceeded to wipe away her tears with his fingers. "We'll find a way out of this, Captain Jack Sparrow always does."  
  
"Really?" she asked, wiping her face with her sleeve.  
  
"Really," he replied. She then gave him a tight hug.  
  
"Promise me, Jack, please," she whispered in his ear.  
  
"I promise," he said, hesitantly patting her on the back. She hugged him tighter.  
  
"Thank you," she murmured. She pulled out of her hug, but didn't let go of him. She brought her face close to his, and kissed him. At first, Jack looked shocked, but then he smiled and kissed her back. Jack knew she was drunk, but he didn't care. 


	12. Apologetic Pirate

Lydia woke to the sound of heavy breathing and a pulsating headache. She stretched her arms and felt something warm under her right arm. She opened her eyes and saw, to her surprise, her head was lying on Jack's shoulder. Her arm was resting on his chest, and his arm had encircled her body. She rolled out of his grasp, but winced as her injured back hit the ground. She sat up slowly because the room was spinning. She turned toward Jack as she heard him snort in his sleep. He made a motion to grab at something with the hand that had been holding Lydia. When his arm found that nothing was there, Jack woke abruptly. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked around, and found Lydia sitting a few feet away from him.  
  
"What are you doing over there, love?" he asked. "Come and sit by me, and we'll have a little chat," Jack said, as he patted the ground beside him.  
  
"We can chat from here," Lydia replied.  
  
"Alright, let's chat."  
  
"Yes, let's," she said. "First of all I want to know what happened last night."  
  
"Ah well, you see," he paused, searching for words. "You got quite drunk and well, you had a fit of hysterics, and I comforted you."  
  
"What do you mean comforted?" she cried. "I slept with you?"  
  
"Not exactly in the sense that you mean," he replied hesitantly.  
  
"I'm not your whore!" she countered attempting to stand up. She had to lean herself against the wall because she was so dizzy. "You can't just kiss me because I'm drunk!"  
  
"But love, you kissed me," he said simply.  
  
"What?" Lydia asked, taking a shaky step forward. "I did nothing of the sort." She took another step toward Jack, barely keeping her balance. The room was spinning too fast.  
  
"Are you okay?" Jack inquired. Lydia began to nod her head, but instead fell to her knees and vomited. He helped her up. "Feel better?"  
  
"Much," she answered weakly. The room had stopped spinning so much and her head hurt less, but it still felt like the hangover from hell.  
  
"We've still got to get the treasure back to Eyeless Eddie." He turned her so she was facing him. "You up for it?" he asked. She nodded. He led her over to the chest. She gratefully sat down on it.  
  
"So what's the plan?" she inquired.  
  
"To bring the treasure back to Eddie," Jack said matter-of-factly.  
  
"That's it?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"So far," he retorted. He saw her disapproving face and added, "I'm making this up as I go!" She sighed heavily and got to her feet.  
  
"Then I suppose we better get started, savvy?" she asked grinning.  
  
"Savvy, love," he said. They each picked up one side of the chest and lifted it up. It was extremely heavy, and they had to use both hands. They stopped often, because Lydia's hangover was refusing to go away. After a few hours, they made it to the end of the island.  
  
"How are we going to cross this water?" Lydia asked. I'm not going in there, and we can't let the treasure sink.  
  
"I dunno, love," he answered. "Let's rest a while and think." They both sat down on the chest, and looked around, searching for an answer.  
  
"I'm sorry," Lydia said suddenly.  
  
"Sorry for what?"  
  
"For leading you on like that," she responded. "I was drunk, and I'm sorry."  
  
"No worries, Lydia, happens all the time," he said. But something in his tone of voice made her think it didn't. They sat in silence for a little longer.  
  
"I know," she said, standing up. "We can float the chest on logs," she added. "Come on, help me." She walked toward a fallen log, and dragged it toward the water. Jack followed suit with another log, and pretty soon they had four large logs ready by the water. Lydia and Jack heaved the chest onto the center of the makeshift raft. They shoved it into the water and jumped in after it. Lydia's back stung, but she managed not to drown. They pushed it toward the other side, until it ran into the opposite shore. Blood was running down Lydia's back again, but she didn't care as much as last time. They both dragged the chest off the raft and lifted it again. Jack and Lydia walked the rest of the way in silence. Finally, they reached the beach where Eyeless Eddie was waiting.  
  
"I knew you would not leave your friends at my mercy," he greeted them. "Not yet anyway." 


	13. Fighting until Fatigued

Eyeless Eddie's crew loaded the chest into a small boat, and then they rowed it to the ship. "That is a beautiful vessel you got there, Jack," Eddie said. "I can't wait until it's mine."  
  
"Captain Jack," Jack muttered. Lydia gave him a disbelieving look.  
  
"You have what you want, now let us go!" Lydia cried.  
  
"Ah, but the treasure isn't the only thing I want," he replied. "I also want to make sure you can't follow me. I can't thing of a better way of ensuring that, then to kill everyone of you, and steal your ship," he continued with a grin.  
  
"Please don't take my Pearl," Jack begged. "She's the light of me life!" Lydia rolled her eyes and Jack's half-assed attempt at getting out of this situation.  
  
"Pretty soon, Captain Sparrow, you won't have a life," Eddie said. "I think I'm going to kill you one by one, on this island." He nodded to himself. "Starting with you," he pointed at Lydia, "and ending with you," he said switching his attention to Jack. "Yes, I'll finish you off last, that way you can watch everyone of your crew die, and know that you couldn't save them." He chuckled to himself. "You are a pitiful captain, you take on a woman as part of your crew, you make friends with simpletons, and you can't even hold on to your own ship."  
  
"I'd be able to hold on to it, if people stopped trying to steal it," Jack murmured. Normally Lydia would be rolling her eyes, but she wasn't paying attention to the words being spoken. She watched Eddie carefully; actually, she watched his sword carefully. She heard the splashing of oars, and looked to the water. Some of Eddie's crew was coming back, and along with them they brought Gibbs, Will, and Cotton; Cotton's parrot was nowhere to be see, smart bird. Eddie also turned to watch the boat come ashore. It was then that Lydia saw her chance. She grabbed Eddie's sword out of its scabbard. Eddie turned back, ready to knock the sword out of her hand, when she slashed him across the stomach; he doubled over. In the boat, Will, Gibbs and Cotton snatched their captors' weapons and killed them.  
  
"Go back to the ship!" Lydia yelled. "Get the treasure!" They looked to Jack for approval; he nodded his head. "Go with them," Lydia said. "They'll need your help."  
  
"Right," Jack agreed reluctantly. "See you in a bit." He ran off toward the boat. That just left Lydia and Eddie.  
  
Eddie stood up, his shirt was bloody, but he didn't seem to notice the wound. In his eye, Lydia saw a look that the devil himself would be scared of. Suddenly, he lunged at her and backed her against a tree. She cried out as her injury hit the tree trunk. Her sword was knocked out of her grasp. His large hand closed around her small neck, strangling her. She choked while trying to fight back, but she only had one hand free from Eddie's hold. There was black around the edges of her vision, and she began to feel lightheaded. Her chest hurt because of lack of air. She begged her brain to help her. Think of something, she pleaded. Her mind didn't fail her. She brought her knee up to his stomach wound and he suddenly let go. She welcomed in gasps of air, and almost sat down, when she realized the battle wasn't over. She looked around for the sword. There it was, lying six feet away from her current position. She ran toward it, but felt an intense pain in her back. She fell on the sand, the sword barely out of reach. Eddie had thrown a rock at her; it hit right where her cut was. Panting, she reached for the sword; she could hear Eddie's footsteps coming for her. With her right hand she grabbed the sword, just as he grabbed her left shoulder. As he turned her over, she plunged the sword into his heart. Eddie fell on top of her. She felt his warm blood ooze over her body. She lay there for a moment, too tired to move.  
  
Lydia heaved his body off of hers. Her shirt was soaked with blood as were her hands. She slowly stood up, barely keeping her balance. She pulled at the sword, now lodged in Eddie's chest. It came free, knocking her backwards. She stumbled, but regained her poise. The blade was covered in blood. Lydia walked back to where the body of Eyeless Eddie lay, and used a clean part of his shirt to wipe off the bloodstains. She took off his belt and scabbard, and secured it around her own waist. She sheathed the sword, and looked to the Black Pearl. She could the battle being fought there, and she knew she had to help. Lydia tightened the belt, and jumped in the water. Her cuts stung, but she didn't care. She swam to the ship, and climbed up the rope that was used to lower and raise the small boat. The going was slow; she was physically and emotionally drained from her battle with Eyeless Eddie. By the end of the climb, her hands were covered in blisters, and her arms were sore.  
  
On the deck, she saw a fierce war raging. Jack and Will were fighting together; they seemed to second-guess each other's moves, and their swordplay was flawless. Meanwhile, each sailor was holding his own. She drew her sword, ready to join. Two men from Eddie's crew came running at her. She dodged their lunges and stuck her sword into one's chest while kicking the other over the side of the boat. She hauled her sword out of the man's body, when she heard Jack yell, "Lydia, behind you!" She turned and without thinking, she slit the man's throat. More men charged her and she fought them off, all fatigue forgotten. It seemed barely anytime had passed, when Jack cried, "Good job everyone! We saved the Black Pearl!" Lydia looked up at Jack and saw him give a look of encouragement to all his crew. That is what a good captain does. No wonder his crew would follow him to the ends of the earth without question. They trust him, and now the question remains, Lydia thought to herself, do I trust him? She slumped down on the deck, her exhaustion finally caught up with her. "Hello love," Jack said quietly as he walked toward her. He extended his arm to help her up. She gratefully took it. "So you killed Eyeless Eddie all by yourself?"  
  
"Yes I did, Captain," she replied, half mocking, half serious. 


	14. The Argument Ends

"Lydia, are you all right?" Will asked. She looked down at her bloodstained shirt.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Just a few scratches." She smiled. "That was some nice swordplay I saw, where did you learn?"

"I taught myself," Will said, trying not to brag.

"What are you talking about?" Jack interrupted. "I taught him everything he knows," he said to Lydia. She rolled her eyes.

"That's not true," Will countered. "He's just jealous because I'm better." Lydia laughed.

"Who's the pirate here?" Jack said, offended. Lydia walked back to her room laughing all the way.

The next day the Black Pearl left the four islands. Although everyone had become closer, there was still a strange tension between Lydia and Jack. Lydia wasn't a fool; she knew what it was about. The treasure. The kiss meant nothing, and Jack would be stupid not to see that. They left the treasure sitting in the middle of the deck. No one talked about it; no one even heeded its presence. It just sat there, waiting for a decision to be made.

"Lydia," Jack said, "I think we need to have a chat." He led her to his cabin, where Will was waiting. "I suppose you know why you're here," Jack began.

"Of course," Lydia replied. "To discuss my treasure."

"Now wait a minute, it's not just your treasure!" Jack countered.

"Yes it is," she argued. "It's my grandfather's, therefore it's mine."

"But I had the medallion, and the ship, so therefore part of it belongs to me."

"It's still my decision to give any of it to you," she retorted. "And I'm not so sure you deserve any."

"Oh, is that what you think?" Jack stood up. "Well I'll tell you what I think. I think—"

"Jack," Will said warningly.

"What?" he snapped.

"She's right. This is her treasure, it belongs to her family." Will replied.

"Damn right," Lydia muttered under her breath.

"So," Will said, giving Lydia an annoyed glance, "she gets to decide how she's to distribute it."

"But—" Jack began.

"And even though," Will cut in, "you may deserve a portion, it's up to her." Jack sat back down, looking aggravated and defeated.

"Fine," Jack said reluctantly. "Fine, take it all, I'll just steal it back."

"I'd like to see you try," Lydia chuckled. "From a captain who can't even win a sword fight against a woman."

"Fine, you want a sword fight, I'll give you a sword fight." Jack replied angrily. "Right here, right now."

"Fine with me," she said. "But no cheating, Captain," she added sarcastically.

"You're one to talk." He retorted. Lydia stood up and drew her sword. Jack did the same. Lydia lunged, Jack dodged. "Is that the best you can do?" he asked mockingly. As if in answer to his question, Lydia swung at him harder. He barely blocked her attack.

"Now wait a minute," Will intervened. "Let's just talk this out." Lydia turned to Will.

"You don't know what you're talking about," she snapped. "You don't know what he did to me in that cave," she snarled, turning back to Jack.

"What I did to you?" Jack said in disbelief. "As I recall, it was you who started it."

"You know damn well that I was drunk!" she yelled. "You told me so!" She swung at him again, close to the neck. He blocked her in such a manner that he was inches from her face. "You could have stopped it any time, but you didn't because you're a conceited, lying, dirty bastard!" Her anger that had been bubbling up inside her finally burst. And it felt good.

"Such strong language from such a pretty lady, and a good kisser," he said grinning. At this Lydia pressed her sword harder against his, but he was too strong. He threw her back, making her stumble backwards into Will. She didn't notice, immediately she got back to her feet.

"I swear, Jack, if you give me one more reason," she said threw clenched teeth.

"That's Captain Jack, and what?" he asked smiling wider. "You're going to stab me? Good luck." Lydia charged Jack, but he was ready. He blocked her charge, and then responded with one of his own. It soon turned into a full-fledged duel. Will was powerless to stop them, and he had a feeling that Jack was planning this. Jack backed Lydia up against the door; it looked like he had finally won. But Lydia had a different idea; she threw her weight against the door, and turned the knob. Jack went stumbling through, which gave Lydia the advantage. As Jack was trying to get up, he felt a foot on his back, pushing him back down. He rolled over onto his back. A sword tip grazed his throat.

"I won," Lydia said smirking.

"Not yet, love." He kicked her legs out from under her. She fell into a backbend, with her hands catching her before she hit the floor. She threw her legs over her head, so that she flipped over, landing on her feet. For a moment, Jack was stunned, but he quickly recovered, and lunged at her. "That was a nice trick, love," he said. "Could you teach me how to do that?" She responded by cutting him on the arm. "Such a temper," he lamented. Their sword fight continued, taking them up to the helm. By now, all the crew was placing bets on who would win. Lydia had the popular vote. But the helm was Jack's territory, and he knew just what to do. He backed her into the position he wanted, and then he sprinted towards the wheel. Before Lydia could do anything to stop him, he spun the wheel causing a sail mast to swing at her. The pole lifted her up and swung her out over the water. "I do deserve part of that treasure, and you know it," Jack argued.

"I owe you nothing," she snapped.

"If that's the way you fell about it, I think I'll just leave you hanging there." He faced the crew-turned-audience, and bowed to applause. The people who bet on Lydia were reluctantly handing over their money to the very relieved looking Jack followers. Will had come out to see the battle after Lydia and Jack had gotten a safe distance from the door, and was just about to tell Jack to get her down, when he saw something that made him smile. While the commotion was pursuing on deck, Lydia had devised a quick plan. She threw down her sword, so it stuck in the deck, and hoisted herself onto the beam. She stood up on the pole and flipped forward, landing silently by her sword. She picked it up and walked up behind Jack. She slid her sword and her free hand around Jack's neck, with a triumphant grin.

"Guess who won?" she whispered, smirking, into Jack's ear.

"Damn it," Jack muttered. Now the crewmembers who betted on Lydia were collecting money from the very unhappy Jack followers.

"I'll be taking my treasure now," she grinned. She sheathed her sword, and walked toward the chest, sitting in the center of the deck. The silent crew parted like the Red Sea, having either the utmost fear or respect for her. She shoved the chest into her room, and slammed the door. As soon as the door shut, the crew all turned to Jack.

"Well what are you waiting for?" he yelled. "Posts everyone!" The crew scattered, trying to hide their snickers from the captain.

During the next few weeks, Lydia and Jack hardly spoke to each other. They used Will as a go-between. First, they were to stop at Port Royal to drop Will off. As a parting gift, Lydia gave Will the pearl necklace to give to Elizabeth, and a sack of coins. "I see how it is," Jack began, as he saw the Lydia give Will the gifts. "Will gets everything, he always gets everything. The girl, the swords, the hat, and what does poor old Jack get? Nothing!"

"Save it, Jack," Lydia said, exasperated. "Whining won't get you anywhere."

"Right," he muttered, as he walked back to the wheel. "Next stop, Tortuga!" he called to his crew. They cheered in response. Lydia rolled her eyes. A few days later, they reached Tortuga. It hadn't changed at all.

"Here's where I get off," Lydia told Jack, as they docked. "This is the end."

"So it is," Jack replied. "You better get your things."

"I've got them," she said.

"But the treasure—"

"It's all yours, mate," she smiled. "Have fun with it."

"Are you serious?" he asked, incredulous.

"Do you see the chest anywhere near me?" she said. Jack looked around. All she had was a small bag. He suddenly ran off to his room. Lydia chuckled. She walked toward the gangplank.

Jack entered his cabin, and looked around. He saw the chest, sitting in the corner. He ran to it, and hastily opened it. All that lay inside were the gold and silver coins. "What happened to all the jewelry?" he asked to himself. He sat and thought, when Lydia gave Will the pearls, the chest was filled with jewels, including more pearls, the tiara and rings. "Why that little—" he started his sentence, but didn't finish it. He ran back on the deck just in time to see Lydia walk down the gangplank. "Hey!" he called. "I'm missing some treasure!"

"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate," she responded. "Some of its jewels." She smiled and waved. Jack could see the sapphire ring she was wearing on her hand, just before she disappeared into the crowd.

He grinned, muttering to himself, "Drink up me 'earty yo ho!"

THE END.


End file.
